Helping Hands

[Ashavari]

Elias' words were unnecessarily harsh, else she was just over sensitive to them, hooked onto him as she was. A frown flickered her brow, half covered by the glass of water pressed to her lips. She'd always imagined most people would recoil from the understanding that she could touch upon something so unspoken and private as their very feelings, but despite the way Elias slunk at the back of the room, draped against the kitchen counter like he wished to separate himself from the rest of the group, he was unconcerned. Or maybe he just didn't believe; there was plenty of scepticism in him, but there was also plenty of impossible circulating the room so she didn't know what caused it. Point was, she had the whisper of a gut feeling that he wanted something, not necessarily from her personally, but from one who could do what she did.

"Not just sense,"
she added to Lucas' description. "Feel."
He was taking everything relatively calmly, all things considered. She smiled encouragement. At which point Nox broke into manic laughter. Reflexively, she shuffled a little away when he ended up on the floor, though he landed nowhere close. It was bad enough she could sense the void of him without the dichotomy of such obviously displayed emotion. She didn't want to accidentally touch that, but was soon distracted by the ball of brilliant light, coalescing from nothing.

Asha watched with wide eyes. The temperature change in the metro had been a subtle, non-visual thing utterly superseded by the spectacle now. Excitement bubbled as the answers began to piece themselves together, and she itched to pull the clunky Wallet from her pocket to scribble notes. There was no fear, but her enchantment was relatively short-lived. She blinked at the realisation that she could be considered a monster. She thought she'd proved her uncle's caution wrong by finding acceptance, but instead he had been proven gravely right. It was a sad reinforcement, but nothing new. There was something else, though. Asha soaked in the reactions around her, control fractured by a realisation she needed far more silence in which to work through.

The smile faded. She couldn't work process her own confusion in such a loud environment; couldn't handle having to feel the others amidst the cacophony of her own turmoil. Her cheeks flushed embarrassment, but she stood anyway, leaning on the edge of the coffee table to push herself up. Aria would understand, if no-one else, that it was not fear which drove her away from the revelation, but something far more complicated. A surge of old feeling. "Need some air,"
she murmured, making her way over the stretch of Nox's legs and out the door a moment later.

[Lucas]

There was a lot going on all at once, between Elias' harsh response to Ashavari, to Nox's seeming to just kind of lose it talking about monsters and giggling in fits before a ball of light began to float in the air, to Ashavari's standing, needing to got outside for some air.

It was a freaking circus in here and suddenly Lucas felt the odd man out. He didn't know what to respond to, but it was all so crazy. He looked at Aria questioningly. She worked with this guy? He wasn't impressing Lucas with his sense that he had a handle on everything. He was chaos in the room and it seemed to spin out and hit everyone, especially Asha. She was feeling the room in the same way Aria was, apparently. And Aria was tired.

He had to focus on what was important at this moment. Looking around the room he decided. He spoke up, not harshly but not hesitantly either, fixing him with a look. "Hey man, you need to chill out big time. You're overwhelming people with your mood or whatever. Aria's had a rough night"
- They had no clue how bad a night- - And Asha's clearly having a tough time of it. So just sit back and relax and let everyone get used to everyone else, ok?"


He looked at Aria. This was her house, but that didn't mean that he couldn't help keep things from boiling over. Hopefully she would be able to help Asha out.

Edited by Lucas, Jan 12 2015, 05:37 PM.

[Aria]

Elias was full of doubt and Aria was pretty sure there was a hidden lie beneath his words. She disliked the feeling. She was about to say something when Nox interrupted her. Aria stood with the words hanging out. She clamped her mouth shut as she turned to watch Lucas as Nox showed off his power. She rather expected him to do something far more chaotic, but the orb of light hung in the air like some magical light bulb. It was pretty, and simple, not what she'd expected. Last time she'd seen Nox wield his power he was holding a whip of fire and blowing things up with fire and earth and air. It had been impressive.

Lucas wasn't overly amazed, she supposed that was a good thing, he was far more protective because of Nox's antics she smiled at that. Nox started to speak, Dude..."
Aria turned to him and gave him a look that made his mouth close and that dumb goofy grin spread wide on his face. "What?
Nox just sat there and grinned at her. She couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

Ashavari's departure had been abrupt but Aria understood and she'd give her some space for now. Maybe it was time for the boys to go home. She sighed at Lucas leaving. But she smiled and sat down next to Lucas. "Other than Nox's obnoxious behavior his emotions are not a problem."


"Hey!"
Aria could hear the mock offense in his voice. He laid back and his grin splayed on his face again. "Good of you to notice."


Aria rolled her eyes at him again, she turned her attention back to Lucas. "Nox's power keeps him from me, he is completely empty. If I couldn't see him with my eyes, I wouldn't know he was there. It's really disconcerting."


Now that Nox and Lucas had smothered her ire at Elias she choose to answer him directly. "We, no I can sense animals, monsters. It's mostly instinct, hunger, and the basic emotions. Loyalty, and the like. It's different. I can't surmise what they mean all the time. But I can track any monster from the scene of their crimes and find where they hid given enough time. I've used my skill to hunt and track rabbits out in the wilderness for my evening meal while out on a hunt."



Edited by Aria, Jan 12 2015, 05:24 PM.

[Elias Donovan]

Elias perked when glares were flashed his way. Apparently he'd said something wrong? Screw them for being touchy. He'd barely spoken in an hour, and the one question he asked was dismissed for most of it. He went back to the river. He could see it now as clearly as if he were standing on the banks. Fresh snowfall had covered the frozen surface with a white blanket, but where that burst of power blew the ice free, they had seen a shadow darting beneath. If one of these Sentients had been there, who knows what might have happened.

Lucas triggered the next shitstorm because his question sent Nox off the deep end. The kid curled up on the floor, laughing like a lunatic. Then a flood of information rushed over their heads. Elias had no idea what the kid was talking about. For once, he looked to Lucas like the man might be some sort of anchor in this madness.

Words were thrown about the next couple minutes that Elias had never heard in his life. Atharim and godlings - apparently Elias was one of these 'reborn gods of past ages.' Actually, that would hold some sort of appeal if it weren't for the fact that Nox was so damned sure Elias was one of them. What kind of right did he have to make assumptions about Eli? Even if this one was kind of cool.

The others bickered among themselves, and Elias' scowl deepened until Aria admitted one very important clue. Nox's power hid his presence from the Sentients, yet that same power curled its hand around Elias' throat until it threatened to choke him. So to hide from a Sentient was to reveal oneself to the gods. Interesting information.

Aria explained that they could, in fact, sense the presence of an animal. She ate game for her evening meal? His look was fixed flat. "Did you tear them apart with your teeth when you caught one?"
He shoved from the kitchen and disappeared out the door. God she was weird.

He went to find Ashavari. One of her was worth ten of anyone he left behind.

He wasn't the sentimental knd of person, but when he caught up, he casually paused at her side. "You okay?"

[Aria]

The words that came out of Elias mouth made Aria rise up from the couch. Aria saw Nox sit up out of the corner of her eyes. He had the audacity to call her a monster in her own house. Aria put her hand on the hilt of her sword as she felt a curl of air wrap around her waist, Nox standing just behind her. "Down girl, let him go."


Aria could feel the anger rising, knew that it needed an out, needed to vent. Aria turned to face Nox and found him not smiling, no goofy grin, Aria wanted to hit him. Aria threw a punch and Nox grinned at her and he caught her hand and held it. Nox's other hand was pointed at Lucas with a stop command. Aria looked to Nox and glared at him. She wanted to scream and yell but nothing came, she wasn't mad at Nox.

Aria turned and head towards her bathroom door. She called back behind her. "Nox, I would appreciate it if you went home. I will talk to you tomorrow."
Aria walked into the bathroom and turned on the water to the bathtub. The sound of the running water calmed her, soothed the ragged nerves. Aria dropped the plug in the tub and listened to the water. When she returned to the other room she found Lucas alone. Nox had slipped out. She gave Lucas a half smile. "You are welcome to stay, but I think two is a crowd when Asha returns. Can I call you tomorrow? I need to sleep, you do too."
Aria walked over to Lucas and stood before him. She focused on him and his emotions. "I'm sorry about today. About Nox. I won't go out alone like that again."
It was a promise she was willing to make, she knew that Nox was a good hunter, she'd ask him to work with her, they had secrets to keep together.


Edited by Aria, Jan 13 2015, 09:07 AM.

[Lucas]

Lucas felt irritation at Elias' contemptuous comment before leaving the room, at the look that passed across Aria's face. What a jerk. He stood up.

Aria went to her sword and for a moment Lucas was afraid she was going to try to do something. He was surprised to see her suddenly hold still and Nox speak to her as if she was a dog. His own glare was nothing compared to the punch Aria tried to get him with. He caught it and held her still. Without looking at him, his hand flew up to Lucas with a stop command. Another asshole.

'You don't tell me what to do."
he said as he walked toward the man. Aria suddenly deflated and walked to the bathroom, telling Nox to leave. Lucas was now right next to Nox, looking at him. "Look, asshole, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but it stops now."
He looked at the door where Aria was. "She's been through enough tonight without you bringing in people and making it worse."

[Nox]

The place went to hell and back and Nox sighed when Elias nearly literally called Aria a monster. He was almost inclined to let her kill the man. Or at least try to. This was a fucked up day. His good deed had blow up in his face. And now the one friend he had in the Atharim was stalking away. And Lucas was standing too close for comfort. He was seething with anger, his face and his voice spoke volumes to Nox. And Nox was at that point where he didn't care right now. He wanted a drink.

He didn't have a right to tell Lucas what to do. Why should he care if his girl would have put her sword through him. Lucas' entire attitude prompted Nox to go into defensive mode. He wanted to throw what his sister would call a tantrum, with swearing and long lecturing sentences. But Nox sighed and took a step back with his hands up. He only held the power to keep from overwhelming Aria.

"For the record, I didn't just bring people over here. I called her, she said yes. So she at least thought she could handle all this."
Nox glanced back at Aria in the bathroom, staring at the water filling up. "She asked me to leave. I'm going to go. If you want to make more of this then by all means we can step outside. But personally all I want to do is go home and crash on my bed with a cold beer and forget this day happened."


Lucas looked at him a moment and then nodded. "It's been a fucked up day."
He looked back the door where Aria was and then sat down. "You have no idea."


Nox shook his head, "I'm sure I don't want to know."
Nox spared a glace back at Aria and felt bad for the shit he'd added to her plate. "May our next meeting be more pleasant."
Nox offered Lucas his hand.

Nox turned and walked towards the door. He opened it and turned back to Lucas. "Take care of her She needs someone like you."
He walked out and hoped he didn't run into Elias again. He might be tempted to throw him into on coming traffic.

((with Lucas))

[Ashavari]

It was bitter cold, and she'd left her coat on Aria's sofa. But she didn't intend to go far, or stay away long; just enough time for distance and perspective uncluttered by the emotions of others. She wanted to process this without any external influence, and there was too much distraction and volatility upstairs in the apartment to even begin to understand what she felt herself. As those she'd left behind faded to remoteness, Asha slowed her pace. It was dark outside, but the street was well-lit. Only a thin sheen of fresh snow crunched underfoot; the roads were kept swept clean.

Memories chased her heels. One in particular, when they'd stopped at an unremarkable guest house, and the pain and grief and fear of someone resting somewhere within those walls had been enough to wipe every other sense from her body. When he'd found her, her uncle had bundled them in the car and drove, no destination. Just the hum of the engine and his glacial stillness, until her sense of the stranger's pain faded and her body's physical reaction to it calmed. The memory tasted bitter-sweet, now, like there were lies buried in her recollection, splintering its clarity with doubt. She'd always known he kept things from her. But this? Is that why'd he left her? Because of the alternative he'd been shirking for so long? Nox's story was too easy to believe; she seen too much, questioned too much, to dismiss it as ridiculous. But she still wasn't sure she wanted it to be true.

Asha sensed someone behind her long before she saw or heard him, and knew who had followed too, before he spoke. If he really was what Nox accused him of being, he could have easily snuck up on her. She was glad he hadn't. "Yeah."
That was true. She knew fleeing the room had made her look all kinds of fragile, but she simply knew how best to look out for herself. A crowd was always going to place strains on her senses, and though it was generally endurable it didn't mean she had to suffer it out in silence when there was an alternative. Though she hated calling the attention to herself. Fortunately nothing chivalrous emanated from Elias. She wouldn't be surprised if he'd used her departure to facilitate his own.

"I know you didn't really want to come here. But thanks."
A resilient smile banished the brooding tenor of her earlier thoughts. "Although I think the crazy up there might be worse than axe-murderers."


She glanced back at the building. She was immensely grateful for the aid, but she felt like a terrible burden. Aria was tired, and not just the tired of a busy but satisfying day; hers ached bone deep and burrowed much deeper. It was unpleasant to feel, but mostly she just didn't want to add to it. Lucas' over-protectiveness made her sure she would. And if Nox was to be believed, by letting her stay Aria would be harbouring something her cult believed should be hunted down. A shiver inched her spine. Maybe best not to think about that.

[Elias Donovan]

"That's not entirely true,"
Elias replied. Puffs of moisture condensed on the air in front of his mouth. He'd rarely seen such a thing before coming here. The cold seemed to pierce bone-deep, already his fingers tingled. He kept his hands in his pockets, and although he noticed Asha was without so much as a coat, he didn't know if there was something he could do. That trick of Nox's would be a simple matter to reproduce, warming the air around them, but he did not like experimenting in front of a stranger. While on one hand he was certain he could obliterate ten of Nox, a small twinge of fear wondered if he could so much as make sparks on demand. Best to not try with an audience.

"If I didn't want to go, i would not have came. I wasted most of my life to date doing things I loathed. I was, however, very ready to leave that bag of crazy. You know the chick? Aria? She was talking about killing rabbits to catch her dinner. I joked that she killed them with her bare teeth and she went psychopath apeshit crazy. She reached for her sword. Nox yanked her back with one of his invisible ropes and I got the hell out of there."


Eli was not chivalrous. Hell, he was wearing two sweaters and a coat and he didn't so much as offer Asha his gloves. But when he turned to her, his gaze was insistent. "You've gotten along your entire life without needing someone else 'like you'. You're only here on their charity, but I'm warning you that they are dangerous. That's something - coming from me."
The corner of one pale lip twinged. Eli did not often admit peril.

He pulled his Uncle's Wallet from its hidden pocket safe against his chest. With it, he gave Asha enough money for two nights at a hotel. "It won't get you the Ritz, but at least it'll be clean, safe and a proper bed. You don't need someone's couch."
With the money went his name and Wallet number. "Call me if you want."
It wasn't the offer of a hero. It was a rope she could use to climb to safety or hang herself with. Eli wasn't going to stick around and find out how she used it.

He pat her on the shoulder as he walked by. Somewhere around here was a metro station, and he was in the mood to ride the trains all night. For all his stoic walking away, he kept an ear taut behind him, in case she came after him.

[Ashavari]

"I just know what you feel. Not what you think."
It didn't really need clarifying, but she offered it up as reassurance anyway, a half-smile ghosting her lips. The things he said about Aria were disturbing, though, and the concern flittered freely across her expression. Why would she react so poorly? She rubbed the side of her head, feeding thick strands of hair frustratedly through her fingers. Elias was right. She didn't need someone "like her." Before tonight, she'd never even known her abilities weren't just some unique aberration. But he was wrong about needing someone. Asha was self-sufficient, and relished the independence, but she was also lonely. So much of her coping mechanism had been tied up with her uncle.

She blinked surprise at the gift of money, for once at a loss for words. His warning tasted sharp and dark, the sincerity of it, his certainty. It layered his words with something insistent, soaking her skin as deep as the cold and prompting a shiver. Sleeping in a building of strangers, each soul a faint tug on her mind, was less enticing that an apartment with someone who was at least an acquaintance. But he made it sound - made it feel - very necessary. Had he not walked so resolutely away, she probably would have been swept up in the current of his warning. So easily swayed, she would have followed with little insistence. But he left, and the urgency faded, leaving her numb in its wake.

He'd given his number too. Left to the purity of emotions solely her own, she appreciated that more than the cash.

Asha didn't head back up right away. Elias plagued her with uncertainty, and she waited for his presence to clear before she made a decision. In the end she was still conflicted when she climbed her way back up, and pushed her way back into the apartment, fingers numb on the door handle.